GW Cross Country Set for Saturday's A-10 Championships

Colonials Head South to Charlotte to Compete for Conference Crown

WASHINGTON - The George Washington men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the Atlantic 10 Championships Saturday morning at Frank Liske Park in Charlotte, N.C. The men's 8,000-meter race begins at 10 a.m., with the women's 5K race following at approximately 10:45 a.m.

"Overall, we are a very young team so this weekend will be primarily to gain experience at the conference championship level," said head coach Terry Weir. "On the women's side, we are coming off our best team race of the season and we are peaking at the right time. I am excited to get down to Charlotte and see how we do."

Junior Julia Weir leads the women's team into this weekend's championship race. Weir has posted two top-10 finishes this season, including a fifth-place performance at the Leopard Invitational Oct. 15. At last season's A-10 Championships at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pa., Weir finished in 87th place in 20:30.

"Julia and I have spoken and we determined a good goal for her would be a top-15 finish, which would be Atlantic 10 All-Conference," said Coach Weir. "All of her racing this season points to this being a very achievable goal for her and I am very excited to see how she performs."

On the men's side, two Colonial harriers have A-10 Championship experience. Saturday will mark the third appearance for senior Dan Kane and the second appearance for sophomore James Stern. Kane's best finish came last year, taking 91st place in 30:02 while Stern finished in 77th place in 26:52.

Last season, both the men's and women's teams finished in 11th place at the A-10 Championships. Two-time All-American Megan Hogan ('09) shattered the A-10 Championship individual record by completing the course in 16:56, 27 seconds faster than the previous record and 21 seconds ahead of the field.